


Cold

by wintergreen28



Series: our lives together [5]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:36:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27179344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintergreen28/pseuds/wintergreen28
Summary: Aaron gets hurt on a case, and Walker and Aaron realize their feelings for each other.This is another one-shot from Walker and Aaron's story together. I'm not entirely happy with how it turned out, but it's the best I could do.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Original Female Character(s), Aaron Hotchner/Reader
Series: our lives together [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959631
Kudos: 15





	Cold

Hearts were pounding at an exponentially high rate compared to that of the normal heart rate. It wasn't just Elizabeth's heart either. As shots rang out from inside of the building where Aaron had run into just moments before, the entire team was stricken with shock. The last thing she could remember was attempting to run into the warehouse where the shots had rung out, but Derek held her back tightly, his arms wrapping around her shoulders and abdomen.

All she could scream was his name, before dropping to the concrete ground of the road, her chest rising and falling irregularly, hot tears rolling down her face. A police captain approached the members of the BAU, talking quietly with Dave, who turned and relayed the information to the team. 

"They're planning on heading in. Morgan, you're with Walker, Reid with Prentiss, and JJ, you're with me. We're breaching in five minutes, we're looking for survivors, and for the unsubs. Let's move." With a clap of his hands, the team rushed to get ready.

Liz struggled to put on her Kevlar vest, rushed securing the straps before moving to remove her gun from its holster.

Derek placed a hand on Liz's shoulder as he moved behind her, signaling he was ready to breach the warehouse. She followed closely behind him, flanked by two SWAT members. They reached the looming doors without a problem, but Liz's anxiety kept rising higher. She didn't want to think about finding Aaron dead, but it was all that was on her mind. Liz managed to push her thoughts down enough as Derek made a count to breach.

On his three, they were in. The lights were dimmed to the point of almost darkness, and there were still shots ringing out from ahead. The other teams were breaching from different sides of the building. Liz stuck close to Derek, making her focus on watching his back. They continuously cleared rooms as they went, making their way to the center of the building.

As Liz swung around a corner, she was faced with Rossi and JJ. Nodding in acknowledgment, they continued to move towards the center. Hearing a scream, they picked up their pace, Derek hissing different orders to the SWAT team as they all but sprinted towards the source of the sound. 

There was a rapid pace of shots, and then nothing. Liz pushed herself to try to run even faster, if it was possible, determined to find Aaron and pleading with whoever would listen in her mind for him to still be alive. Holding her gun out in front of her, she reached the middle of the room, her hair sticking to her forehead with sweat. Multiple bodies were strewn across the floor, some heaving with exasperated breath, some already presumed dead. 

Recognizing one that had a mop of dark hair, she rushed over. He had two gunshot wounds, one a graze and one to his left abdomen. Putting pressure on one of the wounds, she cupped his face, immediately recognizing the frightened eyes staring back at her as Aaron's. He seemed to wilt in relief, leaning into her as she cradled him, placing pressure on the profuse bleeding. 

"I need a medic!" Liz shouted, moving her arm to better support Aaron's head. His breathing became more irregular with each passing second, and she pleaded with him to keep his eyes open.

"Liz--Liz--I--" 

"Shhh, Aar, I've got you. Save your strength for me, okay? I need you to keep your eyes open for me." His eyes started to flutter closed, but it was obvious he was fighting to stay awake.

"No stay with me, Aar, stay with me please." His eyes shut. "Wake up sweetheart, stay with me! Where's my medic?!" She shouted, continuing to plead with him.

Paramedics rushed over to the two of them, prying Aaron out of her arms and rushing him into an ambulance. Liz watched over them with frenzied eyes, wanting nothing more than to follow him immediately to the hospital. Rossi came up behind her, helping her rise to her feet, and walked with her out of the building.

The chaos was starting to slow down, the unsubs that were alive in custody. The medical examiners were coming to the scene, paramedics and different officers swirling around bodies, and all the voices and sights blurred together. All Liz wanted was for Aaron to be okay, and it _hurt_ that she couldn't do anything about it. Theoretically, she could put her MD to use, and burst into the hospital and demand to operate but it would be a waste of time. 

Feeling Rossi's arms wrap around her was a comforting feeling. He gently led her out of the warehouse, graciously pretending to ignore the tear tracks on her face, and constant flow of tears coming from her eyes. Stopping at the door of the SUV, he turned her around to face him.

"He's going to be alright y'know."

"But what if he isn't? It was my fault he got into this mess in the first place."

"It wasn't your fault--"

"Yes it is! I was the one that pushed him to go into that warehouse, I was the one who ran. It's my fault he got hurt and I should be helping him and--"

"Beating yourself up about something that wasn't your fault isn't helping him, bellissima. Come on, let's go to the hospital and wait for him there. The rest of the team has got this." Liz nodded along glumly with Rossi's words, and turned around, climbing into the passenger seat of the SUV. After saying something to Emily, who was a few feet away from him, Rossi got into the driver's side and took off. 

The drive to the hospital was hell. They had lost sight of the ambulance carrying Aaron, but they could see the ambulances carrying the other injured rushing off to the same hospital. Liz was shaking almost the entire ride, fiddling with a bracelet on her wrist, praying to whoever was up there that he would make it. She needed him to make it. 

The hospital was cold, as it usually was, but the emergency room chaos comforted Liz a little bit. It felt like home to her, after having spent nearly ten years working in one.

"Hi, can I help you guys?" A friendly enough nurse asked.

"Hi, we're looking for SSA Aaron Hotchner. He should've come in here with multiple GSWs?" Liz said, flashing her credentials casually. The nurse nodded, and led them into a waiting room.

"He just hit the OR, but you can wait here until he's out."

"Thank you." Rossi said, sitting down in one of the chairs. It was as comfortable as a hospital waiting room chair could be, but Liz was uncomfortable being on this side of the medical exchange. She would much rather be on her feet dealing with patients, even operating on _Aaron_ , than waiting here for what would probably be bad news.

It had to have been at least an hour or two later before a doctor came into the waiting room, calling out Dave and Liz's names. Her heart rate rose again, and her mouth went dry as she waited for the inevitable to happen.

"It was a little touch and go for a while, the bullet managed to graze his diaphragm, but he's going to be okay. He should be up within an hour or so. You can see him in recovery room thirty-one."

"Thank you so much, Doctor." Rossi said, shaking his hand. A weight lifted off of Liz's chest and she smiled for the first time that day. Rossi reached over and clasped her hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

They made their way over to the recovery rooms, weaving through the many emergency patients, and over into the main area of the hospital. They had little to no problems finding the room, and opened the door gingerly. 

Aaron was sleeping peacefully, his side bulking with bandages, His head was turned to the side, his hair falling into his eyes, a little paler with the loss of blood. His face looked more gaunt than usual, but seeing him face to face allowed for Liz to take a deep breath again, feeling an abundance of air back in her lungs.

She moved across the room rather quickly, perching on the edge of his bed, directly at his side. Liz took one of his hands in hers, feeling the warmth radiating from him, and she relaxed some. Dave came over to sit in a chair closer to her.

"You see he's okay now?" Liz managed a nod.

"Thank you." 

"For what, dear?"

"Being here. Keeping me sane these past few hours."

"Of course." I'm going to find coffee and update the team." Liz nodded in response, and Dave left the room, heading in the direction of what Liz could presume as the vending machine. She refocused her attention on Aaron, leaning over to gently brush away the hair falling into his eyes. Squeezing his hand, she held onto it for dear life.

"Liz?" Aaron murmured as his eyes opened, taking in his surroundings.

"Hey," She gave him a soft smile, placing a comforting hand on his leg, "Welcome back."

"What happened?" He tried to take a dep breath and groaned as pain struck through him.

"You got shot and it grazed your diaphragm. I wouldn't try taking too many breaths if I were you Aar."

"I'll take your word for it." He huffed gently, resting his head back onto the pillows.

"I'm sorry." 

"It wasn't your fault," He reached out with his other hand and captured her elbow. "I'm okay, and it wasn't your fault." Tears trickled down Liz's cheeks and he moved to cup her face.

"Look at me, I'm right here." Liz leaned into his touch, his warmth keeping her going right now. "You know I love you right?" His words caught Liz by surprise.

"You do?" She said, opening her eyes to look at him, her hand reaching up and holding his hand to her cheek.

"Yeah, I do." He smiled, "I love you, Elizabeth Walker."

"Well I love you too, Aaron Hotchner."

"C'mere." Aaron said, and Liz moved closer to him, curling up on his good side, an arm gently placed on his torso. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and rested against it. He, too, felt like a weight was taken off his chest.

"I love you." He murmured, closing his eyes and drifting off again, letting sleep take him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
